The Labasa Then India Valibar (TIV) religious football team’s preparation for the Sangam TIV competition in next month’s Easter weekend suffered a huge blow with the death of their coach, Salesh Mani.

Mani, a police officer, collapsed after the team’s training session last Saturday and was rushed to the Labasa Hospital, where he died.

Salesh Mani

His son Melvin Mani plays for Navua in the Digicel Premier League.

The religious institution’s Labasa branch president, Kamlesh Reddy, said it was a sad day for the Sangam family in the North.

He said Mani was a dedicated person in making our community a better place to live in and was eager to coach our football team.

“Salesh Mani was a team player and shared his 25 years of football knowledge and management skills with the team,” Reddy said.

“The side have been affected with this loss and the team’s participation would be determined in the next few days.”

The late Mani is survived by his wife and three children.

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